A Wedding Worth the Wait
by Telturwen
Summary: This is a prequel/sequel to Tears of the Ages. The wedding of James and Lily Potter, in ridiculous, baffling detail.
1. Ruining the Rehearsal

**A/N:** This story is a prequel/sequel to the story _Tears of the Ages_ by Tan n' Tel.

 **Disclaimer:** J.K. Rowling owns all the things. I just write this stuff.

Part of the **Year Long Scavenger Hunt** on HPFC. (#5 of the 50 pointers) _Write a monster length story (overall word count over 10,000) based around your OTP_

* * *

 **Prologue**

A black-haired twenty-year-old stepped out of the back room and closed the door softly behind him. He placed his hands on his front to smooth out his perfectly fitted black tux, stepping down the stairs, every step seemly confident, but the slight shake in his hands betrayed him.

"Are you sure you're ready for this, James?" Sirius asked quietly out of the side of his mouth.

Was he actually asking his best friend to second guess his marriage? What an idiotic git. Sirius knew James shouldn't have picked him to be the best man.

"Merlin, I hope so," he heard James mutter almost inaudibly.

Sirius smirked inwardly as a soft melody began to play from the east wing.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **Ruining the Rehearsal**

Aurelia embraced a dozen Potters that she had supposedly known since infancy. She could not pick out a single face, save James' mother and father, that she could remember seeing before the rehearsal. She didn't mind really, because being almost pureblood, she was required to know far more people than the average witch. There were so few families left that could claim the title, which was the problem.

In actuality, only the Colton side of her family was purely pureblooded. Her mother's family was what some called 'diluted' blood, because her great-great-grandmother had married a Muggle and 'sullied' the reputation. Aurelia didn't give a rat's ass about the family reputation. It seemed to be dwindling as of late anyway after her mother had been killed and her father began drinking.

She was knocked from her thoughts as a sweet face caught her eye. The Evans' were a beautiful bunch, though there were not many of them. Lily's mother was pleased to spot the maid of honor before the rehearsal began. Pamela Evans was a strong-willed woman and, Aurelia knew from experience, an excellent chef. Besides decorating the reception area and planning the entire wedding with Euphemia Potter, mother of the groom, she had volunteered to serve several dishes at the rehearsal dinner, despite her daughter's stern refusal of the proposition.

"Lia, darling," Pamela said, lying a light hand on her shoulder. "Lily is waiting for you in the back room on the left. She wants to take a few pictures of the wedding party before we start."

"I'm not supposed to have changed, am I?" she said, her hands instinctively running down the front of her simple, light green empire waist dress. She felt under dressed, though she knew Lily was wearing almost the exact same thing, only in white.

"No, no, dear," said Pamela sweetly. "You look beautiful."

Aurelia had to endure wading through two extra aisle-lengths of Potter and Evans relatives before finally stepping out of the main hall and into the back of corridor. She was greeted by two flustered photographers and several girlish screeches. The female photographer, plainly not enjoying the difficulties she was stressing over, had grabbed her arm and placed her in between Lily and Emily.

"How're you doing, love?" she said to Lily and kissed her cheek with a reassuring smile.

Lily heaved a giant breath and her eyebrows danced nervously. "I could vomit butterflies, Lia."

The photographers held up their hands to signal they were ready to take the picture. All four women placed their hands behind each others' backs and smiled.

Aurelia spoke with Lily and tried to calm her nerves as best she could, telling her over and over that it was just a practice run.

She had only been in London for a manner of days. The only people she had seen before rehearsal day had been James, Lily and their immediate families, and of course all the girls that had come to the bachelorette party she had had to plan in four hours. Maid of Honor's duty, she was told. It had been one wild party, even though Lily had declined the invitation of male entertainment. Aurelia had tried to coax her into it by assuring her that James would have some form of that entertainment at his party, but this didn't go over well. That wasn't the first time she questioned her aptitude for the job and she was sure it wouldn't be the last, mainly due to other occupants of the wedding party.

* * *

Sirius aired out his white dress shirt by pulling at it from different angels, getting it off his skin. He had just started to feel the perspiration and he didn't want to be any more uncomfortable than he already was.

"Nervous?" James asked as he watched his best man continue to air himself.

"Shove off, git," he replied smartly, punching his friend in the shoulder. "It's bloody hot back here."

"So take off the shirt, it's not like anyone's around."

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Bet you'd shove me out into the main hall all half-dressed just for the fun of it. Well, I've got a defense now. You humiliate me, you'll get what's coming to you at the reception, mate. My speech isn't written yet."

"Of course it isn't," said Remus a few steps behind them. "You've only had four months to come up with something."

"Lily's waving us over," Peter said, pointing in the direction they were headed. "Do you think they'll have us take pictures?"

"Damn the woman," James muttered.

Smirking, Sirius told him off with a, " _You're_ the bloke that's going to marry her."

They continued their bee-line for the other half of the wedding party at their same slow pace. Lily became impatient just waiting for them, so she turned her back to the four men to speak with one of her bridesmaids.

The arrangements had been set since the couple had gotten engaged; two groomsmen and a best man, two bridesmaids and a maid of honor. It was difficult for Lily to choose between her two friends Frieda Derkson and Maria Vouldora, but when Maria's work required her to leave the country for a month, including the date of the wedding, it made the bride's job a bit easier.

It was all too obvious who would partner up with whom. Remus and Emily Perkins where a match and since they'd had a good breakup, they were what some would call compatible. Frieda was then left to Peter, since it was tradition to pair the best man with the maid of honor. Even with his pleas, Sirius could not convince them to break that tradition, and from what he had heard, neither could his reluctant partner.

James slid a hand onto Lily's shoulder and she spun around to place a kiss on his cheek. In spinning, she had stepped out of the way enough to reveal the bridesmaid she had been talking to, but it had not been just a bridesmaid.

"Remus!" Aurelia cried, smiling brightly as she enveloped him in a tight hug, catching him unawares. She did the same to Peter, but he was ready for this reaction and didn't stumble back as many foot lengths as his taller, skinnier friend. She then placed a kiss on James' cheek as Sirius spotted a tear run down her own. There was no one left but him and he really hadn't expected her to show him any sort of affection at all, but when she hugged him, he placed his arms around her to show he sought after a truce as well.

He had tried to suppress the temptations that had stirred when he saw her. He admired her form, since she had grown significantly in the last year. He thought the glitter on her eyelashes made her hazel eyes stand out even more than the small dress she wore. It only went down to mid-thigh, teasing the unlucky bastards who never had a chance, and he knew by the feel of her skin through the fabric that she was wearing nothing under it but a pair of knickers. He couldn't help noticing. He was male, after all. The least he could do was make an attempt not to gaze in approval at how much her chest had sized up.

It wasn't more than three seconds that they had held onto each other and Sirius already missed her warmth when she let go. They were all shuffled away to the back door of the manor where they were positioned by a photographer for a few pictures. When they heard an organ begin to play, they all headed for their positions.

* * *

Aurelia placed both hands on Lily's arms and her head on the bride's shoulder.

"You will be fine," she whispered into her ear. When she moved away to join the other bridesmaids in their line of procession, Lily grabbed Lia's arm.

"Are you sure?"

"Lily, this isn't N.E.W.T.-level Potions. What's the worst that could happen?" she asked with a quick smile before turning back around to face the front.

The rehearsal went as planned and everyone did exactly what they were required to do. The only thing that went terribly wrong was when the best man had to escort the maid of honor down the aisle. Sirius had made a comment that sparked a series of retaliatory remarks which led to a row that stopped the entire procession of bridesmaids and groomsmen. Remus had to retrace his steps and break the two apart since the row had ended in a physical altercation.

A few of those seated in the aisles were shocked by the scene and Lily and James were afterwards bombarded with questions as to what exactly they were thinking when they paired those two together.

Aurelia apologized twenty-eight times before Lily would even speak to her after the rehearsal had ended. She figured Sirius had just shrugged when James questioned him about it, but Aurelia would not confide in Lily what comment had started their argument.

Stepping into the nice little cottage they had rented for the rehearsal dinner, Aurelia was humiliated at all the scornful glances she received. She was placed next to Emily and Mr. Evans at the bride and groom's table. The food was delicious, but she could not savor it with the awful taste she still had in her mouth.

It was a nice dinner, except for all the louts who were thick enough to get drunk the night before the wedding. Thankfully, James hadn't placed a wine glass in front of Sirius' place settings for this very purpose. She saw the annoyed look he had on his face when he first realized this and her satisfaction was ripe. When he glanced in Aurelia's direction, she presented him with a genuinely smug look. This irritated him all the more.

* * *

Following dinner at the cottage, Lily gave her husband-to-be a quick peck on the cheek before retreating with her bridesmaids to the door. Once they were outside, they held hands and Apparated to Lily's parent's house in Spinner's End.

Aurelia opened the door, as Pamela had given her the key fearing Lily would be too absentminded tonight to remember where she'd placed it. The girls rushed into the house, pulling out their purses and reaching their arms to the shoulder into each bag to pull out their essentials and toiletries. Extendable Charms were undeniably useful when one was a woman. Aurelia accompanied Lily to her old childhood room, and Lily fell onto the bed, a small smile on her face.

"You'll be a married woman this time tomorrow," Aurelia said, smirking at the thought. Lily's expression immediately fell. Aurelia noticed it instantly. "What's wrong?"

Lily stared up at the ceiling, making figurates on her dress with her fingertips in a distracted sort of way. "Is this going to work?" she asked quietly.

It was apparent that she didn't want the other girls to hear her, so Aurelia closed the door behind her and sat down on the bed next to her best friend.

"Lil… you love each other, right?"

"Of course," Lily replied without hesitation, almost indignantly. She must have bit off her anger, though, because she suddenly looked timid.

Aurelia smiled. "Then of course this is going to work. I don't know of another man who could possibly love you more than James does."

That didn't seem to make Lily feel better. In fact, she looked despondent and a tear was running down her cheek.

"Lily," Aurelia said softly. "I know you know that I know that _that_ would never have worked out."

"You and your cousin have worked it out," Lily said. "You were sorted into different houses and you still get along. Why won't he even be my friend anymore?"

Aurelia sighed. "This is different, luv. Severus adores you, and you want to be his _friend_. You're marrying his nemesis.

"I want to see what you see in him, I really do, but this isn't the time to think about these things. In fact, this is the single most inappropriate time to think about them, because it's the night before your wedding and you're crying because the guy who loves you more than the guy who's going to be in the suit at the altar tomorrow doesn't want to be your friend."

Lily sniffed, wiping the tear from her cheek. "I'm sorry, Lia."

"Don't apologize to me," said Aurelia, folding her arms across her chest. "You're going to have to do a lot of apologizing to James if you can't get over Severus."

That realization made Lily sit up from the bed. "Lia, you wouldn't…"

Aurelia unfolded her arms and used one of them to cuff Lily lightly on the arm. "Who do you take me for? Sirius?"

She chuckled at her own joke, but Lily obviously didn't think it was clever. "What did he say to you today that got you into a sparring match?"

"Nothing."

"Lia, you started hitting him with your shoe! If you did that because he didn't say anything to you, you're out of your mind."

"He said a lot of things, Lily. Just drop it."

Lily's soft smile turned into a grimace.

The rest of the night was spent talking about the honeymoon that would ensue after the wedding, but Aurelia wasn't really in the mood for chitchat. She was too occupied with thoughts about the man she loved, and how much she hated him.

* * *

James' parents were quite an old couple. They had gone to bed as soon as they had Apparated home from the rehearsal dinner. That left Sirius and James to their own devices, which never was a good idea. Remus and Peter had decided they didn't want a repeat bachelor party, so they were staying at their own places tonight.

Sirius fell over onto the couch in front of the fireplace in the main living room. James was right behind him, letting out a groan when he made contact with the cushions.

It wasn't as if the bachelor party hadn't been a fantastic success, Sirius thought lazily. Alcohol had been involved and there may have been entertainment of the female variety, specifically where Remus had—at one point—been wrapped in a pink feather boa. Despite all of the frivolity, his friends didn't seem to have that good of a time, undoubtedly because of the amount of alcohol they had consumed, which was—to be fair—their own damn faults. It wasn't like Sirius had shouted at them and sang show tunes really, really off-key until they gave in and drank more shots. No, he would never do that.

"You'll be off the market tomorrow, Prongs," said Sirius, hugging a decorative pillow to his chest.

"I'm already off the market, Padfoot."

"Yes, but now it'll be official. I won't be able to say, 'Prongs, look at that Muggle girl,' and whistle that way that makes Lily go red in the face. Oh, I'm going to miss that."

James rolled his eyes. "You like making girls furious until they're so upset their eyes blaze, do you? Just to see their reaction."

Sirius nodded, getting up from the couch, throwing the pillow at James' face—he missed—and heading toward the liquor cabinet. There was bound to be a bottle of _something_ in there.

"And what about Lia's reaction? Did you like that she beat you with her shoe within an inch of your life?"

Sirius stopped, mid-stride, then continued on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "Hardly an inch. More like a meter." He opened the cabinet and pulled out a fifth of Firewhiskey. _Perfect._

"What did you say to her?"

Now if only he could get James to stop talking and start drinking. Sirius grabbed two brandy glasses with his other hand and walked back to the couch, placing the items on the coffee table.

"I said… things."

"What kind of things? What did you say first?"

It had started out civilly enough. _Hi, how've you been?_ But then it got heated, like it always did.

"I asked…" Merlin's teeth, he was going to get it. Sirius closed his eyes and grimaced. "…what she would do if her dress suddenly disappeared tomorrow."

Nothing happened. Sirius opened on eyelid, but James was sitting there, holding his sides and laughing so hard he was making no noise at all. Sirius wondered if his best friend was even breathing.

"What is funny, may I ask?"

Finally, James let out one roaring laugh and then turned to Sirius. He said, "You're still in love with her."

"Piss off," said Sirius, simple but perfunctory. He opened the bottle of Firewhiskey and poured two glasses.

"You're defensive, eh?" James smiled wisely as a glass was shoved into his hand. "What do I need this for?"

Sirius shrugged as he downed his own glass. "It's for your own good?" he suggested.

James took a sip, making a nasty face. Firewhiskey wasn't for everyone. "Why're you drinking, then?"

His best friend gave him a withering look. "It's for your own good."


	2. Terrible Toasts

**CHAPTER 2**

 **The Terrible Toasts**

The girls were up at six o'clock in the morning, getting ready for the "big day." Aurelia was thankful that there weren't any more bridesmaids, because they would never have gotten ready in time. Despite her supposed insecurities, Emily was the one who had brought an entire vanity, complete with mirror, in order to do her makeup and hair. It was actually a little comical. That left Frieda the downstairs restroom and Lily, of course, had the upstairs master suite, which left Aurelia with… the small circular mirror in the upstairs hallway.

She didn't mind. She wasn't entirely fond of makeup, so she just applied some eyeliner and a little bit of eyeshadow. The mirror was so small that it was difficult to see her whole face, but she made do. Suddenly, Lily called her name in a panic-stricken voice and she dropped her eyeshadow onto the floor and rushed into the master suite. Lily sat there in front of the vanity with a peculiar look on her face.

"Help me, Lia," she said, staring at Aurelia in the mirror. "I'm repulsive."

Aurelia laughed lightheartedly. "You are most certainly _not_ repulsive," she said, smiling a little. It took the better part of an hour to apply Lily's makeup, because apparently there was an unwritten but well-enforced rule where the bride had to look like an angel.

Lily had been looking at herself in the mirror for a while, but when she finally turned around after approving of her appearance, only then did her best friend realize Aurelia was crying.

Immediately, Lily brought her into a fierce hug and cradled her head with her hand. "What's wrong?"

Aurelia sniffed softly. "I just… I wish I had what you and James have."

Lily stroked her friend's hair, running her hands through the curlicues in her tresses.

"Do you want to hear my honest opinion or do you want to hear a lie?"

"Be honest," said Aurelia, picking her head up and looking directly at Lily.

Lily sighed heavily. "You are so bright and so beautiful, but you don't see it, do you? You love him."

Aurelia stiffened, and she shook her head. "I was being flippant… lie to me."

Lily smiled a sweet, sad smile. "You'll never see it, will you?"

She almost felt claustrophobic; the air around her was getting dense. "Lily, this is _your_ day. You go be happy. Let the dawdling fools such as myself be."

It wasn't that she would never see. Lily and the guys thought that she was just being stubborn. It was more than that. Sirius had been such an amazing boyfriend when they had dated in sixth and seventh year at Hogwarts. But when they had broken up, she had lost her friends to the egotistical ex and his parade of bimbo rebounds. The reconnection with James, Remus and Peter had come slowly, but Sirius had never even attempted to reconcile. So, Lily didn't see the mess she made when she asked those pointed questions and made those goodhearted but naïve remarks. Sirius didn't want to have anything to do with her, and that was fine. He had made it pretty clear that his love for her had been fleeting when he snogged Marlene McKinnon the day after their breakup, and Mary Macdonald the day after. He had a thing for 'M' names, she mused bitterly.

Despite that, she was trying to give Sirius an olive branch, to say, 'Look, we've had our ups and downs, but let's stop being total prats about the situation and just get over it.' But no… Sirius had to be Sirius, which meant being a total prat, and her olive branch was effectively snapped in half. She was finished trying to play the nice guy; she was ready to play his game, if that's what he wanted. He wasn't going to like the results.

Without another word, she ushered the bride and her maids from their vanities to gather all their things and they were out the door in ten minutes.

* * *

Sirius wasn't fond of this whole rushing around thing. He liked to take his time while getting ready, but they didn't have time because they had overslept because Sirius was a stupid git and made James drink too much Firewhiskey last night. At least, that's what James had said. Sirius knew that the alcohol was helping to calm his nerves. The hangover… not so much.

"Where is my tie?" James asked, his voice unsteady and a little raspy. Oh, Lily was going to kill him for letting her soon-to-be-husband drink that much last night of all nights.

Sirius grabbed the tie off the back of the armchair and flung it at James. In return, James tossed a pair of shoes at Sirius, which caught him in the gut. He made a grunting sound and then picked the shoes up off the floor and starting lacing them.

The doorbell rang and James panicked. Sirius tried to calm him down by telling him it was probably just Remus and Peter, but James leapt over the loveseat and starting fiddling with his cufflinks.

Sirius ran to the door and when he opened it, he swept back his jostled hair and said, "You're here! Great, we—"

"—Aren't finished getting ready?" Remus said, disbelievingly. Well, it was pretty late. Sirius looked at the clock on the wall above the mantle of the fireplace. _Shit!_

"Don't be angry, Remus."

He let them into the house and when Remus saw the state of James, he started bellowing. Sirius wasn't quite sure what he'd said, but he remembered a 'SHE WILL MURDER YOU' and a 'HOW MANY DRINKS DID YOU HAVE?' Calming Remus down took a lot less time than it took to calm James down who was in a right state from the being late and the being yelled at. Peter was, surprisingly, the calmest one out of the bunch. He had sat down in the armchair at the edge of the fireplace and watched the ordeal play out, laughing a couple of times into the sleeve of his suit and pretending it was a coughing fit.

"Alright, so now that that's settled, we will leave as soon as James has found his shoes."

They searched the upstairs bedrooms, the main living room, the second living room and the library before they finally found them in the restroom on the second floor. They were all prepared to leave when Peter piped up.

"Sirius, aren't you going with any protective gear?"

"What are you on about, Worm?" he said distractedly as they were walking out the door.

"Well, Lia might have another fit and she's wearing _heals_ today."

Sirius grabbed Peter's neck in a headlock, but as soon as he did so, Peter Apparated the both of them to the manor house. Suddenly, Sirius felt sick again and as soon as they landed onto solid ground, he fell forward onto his knees and retched.

When he looked up, he saw a livid looking James and Remus, Peter laughing hysterically and Aurelia, looking as though she would really rather not have come out looking for them.

"Lily is worried sick," said Aurelia, the faintest hint of a smirk on her lips. "Not _this_ sick, but still…"

"Laugh it up," Sirius mumbled, grabbing a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping his mouth. When he looked up again, Aurelia was offering him breath mints. "Do you just have these stuffed in your—"

"Do you want them or not?" She held them out and he took four from her palm and tossed them in his mouth. "I take it James has the same… problem… as this one."

Remus nodded confirmation. "I already yelled at them—James feels bad enough as it is. Obviously, Sirius does, too. Don't tell Lily."

Sirius finally got up off his knees and used Peter in order to stand up straight. He watched as Aurelia nodded once and then walked back into the manor without another word. Well, one mumbled word: "Gits."

* * *

Aurelia walked back to the manor and went to the back room on the left where Lily was undoubtedly having a fit. She opened the door, and Emily rushed to her side.

"Where's James?"

"They're here," she said to everyone in the room.

Lily smiled an exhausted smile and patted the front of her dress. "Good. Good…"

Aurelia could sense something was still wrong, but she dare not bring up what she thought it was until the other girls had vacated the room, so she asked for five minutes alone with Lily and they graciously stepped out.

"What is it, love? How can I help?"

Lily looked away, putting one hand against the mirror on the wall. "Am I a good person, Lia?"

Aurelia looked at her for a moment before sighing loudly. "This is _not_ the time for an existential crisis, Lil! You're going to be married in less than half an hour. What is this about, really?"

"Is _James_ a good person?"

Oh, Merlin. She was having second thoughts. Being the maid of honor really was not a picnic.

There were two ways she could explain this to Lily. The first was that it didn't matter if he or she were good people, as long as they loved each other, they have the right and the ability to get married. Somehow, she thought, that approach wouldn't work for Lily. She would immediately assume that Aurelia sidestepping the issue was grounds for dismissing his good qualities. The second method was… well, it was personal, but it had to work, because she didn't have any other ideas.

"Lily," she said softly, "James is a lot of things: egotistical, eccentric, arrogant, careless, mischievous. But those things don't automatically make him a bad person. You have to see through those qualities to the other side, where his kindness, thoughtfulness and loving nature reside.

"I… honestly, I never wanted to tell you this, but when Sirius and I broke up, I went to see James. I asked him if he and I, and Remus and Peter, could still be friends after what had happened. Despite the fact that he said it probably wouldn't work out, he gave me a hug and told me that he wished there was another way. He is an amazing man, but he's also a total git. You have to take the good with the bad, Lily. You can't expect a person to be all good or all bad. Perfect people don't exist in this world. We have to make do with the ordinary people we have."

Lily was on the edge of tears, and Aurelia quickly gathered some tissues to wipe them off before her makeup was smeared.

"You have a way with words, Lia."

"Yeah, well, now that I've spoiled my speech, I'm going to have to write another one. Thanks for that."

Lily let a laugh escape her. "Alright," she said, confident and composed. "I'm ready."

* * *

A black-haired twenty-year-old stepped out of the back room and closed the door softly behind him. He placed his hands on his front to smooth out his perfectly fitted black tux, stepping down the stairs, every step seemly confident, but the slight shake in his hands betrayed him.

"Are you sure you're ready for this, James?" Sirius asked quietly out of the side of his mouth.

Was he actually asking his best friend to second guess his marriage? What an idiotic git. Sirius knew James shouldn't have picked him to be the best man.

"Merlin, I hope so," he heard James mutter almost inaudibly.

Sirius smirked inwardly as a soft melody began to play from the east wing.

"That's our que," he said, starting to walk slowly down the corridor to the main hall. James followed him, as did Remus and Peter. When they came to the hall, they lined up in order on the steps to the makeshift altar. The archway where James and Lily would soon stand was decorated with—who would've thought—yellow lilies and deep red roses. House colors, Sirius mused, which made him grin because he realized Prongs had had a say in the flower arrangements. He needed to remember to take the mickey out of him for that later.

Remus, Peter and Sirius had to leave James alone on the dais while they went to escort the bridesmaids down the aisle. As soon as Sirius paired up with Aurelia, he could feel the tension in her arm and the look on her face said, 'Don't screw this up.' He had no intention of screwing anything up. He looked behind him and flashed Lily a brilliant smile, but she gave him the same look as Lia. His confidence in himself plummeted. Edwin, Lily's father, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Play nice, Sirius."

* * *

Aurelia and Sirius walked down the aisle to some sappy instrumental song. She had her fingers crossed, hoping that that simple gesture would somehow cause Sirius to not act like a complete wanker as he had last night. He hadn't said a word while they walked, just glanced down at her once wearing a shit-eating grin. She wouldn't put it past him to trip her on the dais.

But… nothing happened. He was a gentleman and escorted her to her place and went to stand at his. She smiled. Perhaps he wasn't so immature after all.

Mr. Evans started taking Lily up the aisle when the correct music began playing, and she looked gorgeous. Aurelia glanced over at James, who was staring wide-eyed at his future wife. When they got to the dais, Edwin kissed Lily's hand and then placed her hand in James'. As he walked off, Aurelia could hear Pamela crying softly in one of the first row of seats.

James and Lily stepped up the dais, and the officiant began his spiel.

When they got to the vows, Aurelia stepped close to Lily and took her bouquet from her so that they could hold hands.

Lily cleared her throat quietly and began. "James Potter… I vow to never allow your bad habits to overshadow your good qualities in my mind, to never take your kind heart and your loving words for granted, to always show you how much you mean to me instead of simply saying it, and to love you for as long as I live."

James looked a little intimidated, but regardless he began. "Lily Evans… Lily Evans… I would say your name over and over again in my head, hoping that that very act would get me on a date with this beautiful girl. All my friends said I was crazy, obsessed. But I knew you were the one… my soulmate. Sorry, Seer." Everyone in the main hall chuckled, even Sirius. "I knew when I was a kid that I wanted to be here, on these steps, in front of all these people, marrying you, because you are, simply stated, the most wonderful person in this world. I wanted to be a part of that… I want to share that wonder with you."

Aurelia couldn't see the tears falling from Lily's face, but she saw James wipe his thumb across her cheek. It was a rush of colors after that—saying "I do," the big kiss, walking back down the aisle (and let it be known that the three attendants on the Evans' side of the hall most certainly did _not_ see the maid of honor elbow the best man in the ribs on their way outside—but if she had, he would have deserved it). A brilliant shower of yellow and red sparks from an excess of wands lit the hall as Lily and James departed, cascading beautifully down to the floor like weeping willow branches.

When Aurelia and Sirius were outside, she withdrew her arm from his and they stepped away, but for whatever reason, Sirius was smirking again. She could not figure him out.

* * *

The reception was in the same manor house that they had been married in, only an hour after the wedding. No one really knew what to do with themselves for that hour, except James and Lily, who decided to take a ride around the park in front of the house in a carriage and snog their brains out.

When the hour was up, they all went back into the main hall and the tables and chairs had been set up to create the atmosphere of an ordinary reception. No fancy frills, no flowers. It was nice to be at a wedding and not have to look at gaudy accessories that were only there to look expensive and showy.

Sirius went to sit in his seat between James and Remus. He sat down and a server came directly to fill his wine glass. He liked this place, he thought absently.

Glancing down at the other end of the table, he spotted Aurelia and caught her eye. She looked bored. Perhaps a little entertainment might liven up her evening, as well as his. He grabbed his knife and tapped his water goblet with it, making a _tink, tink_ sound. James looked over at him, curious.

"It's a Muggle tradition," said Sirius.

When he didn't elaborate, James looked over at Lily. She looked panicked. "Sirius, how do you know about that?"

Sirius just smiled slowly. "I took Muggle Studies, remember?"

Aurelia looked confused, too. Oh, he was loving this.

"Lil, what is it?"

Suddenly, Lily took James' face into her hands and kissed him. It lasted only a second. When Lily pulled away, she said, "If anyone taps their silver wear to their glass, we have to kiss."

James smiled. "That's not a bad tradition," he said happily.

"Except when Sirius is involved," Aurelia muttered.

James looked over at his best friend. Sirius grinned wickedly.

* * *

After the thirteenth time during their meal where they had to stop and kiss each other, Aurelia imagined they were beginning to resent the very act.

The last time Sirius was about to tap his glass, Aurelia sent a spell over to Sirius' water goblet, which exploded in a contained bubble and then fell onto the floor. He looked over at her and the entire head table followed his gaze. She smiled pleasantly and casually finished the last bite of her chicken.

It was time for speeches to be made, and Sirius was to go first. He was, however, still sulking over his shattered water goblet, and his tone reflected his attitude. She watched as he grabbed his wand and touched it to his throat, adding a _Sonorous_ spell so that everyone in the hall could hear him.

"Hello, everyone." The attendants all mumbled unintelligibly. "I'm Sirius, best man. I've had a lot of time to think about this speech, about what James and Lily's marriage means to me. Well, for one, I'll be seeing a lot less of him, if you know what I mean." Some people didn't know what he meant, but the ones who did looked shocked. Aurelia guffawed softly. James and Lily's cheeks were reddening.

"Secondly, James has wanted this to happen since, what? Third year? I can never remember him wanting anything more than to be with this woman right here." He pointed his index finger at Lily, who smiled shyly. "See, all my relationships have been sodding _brilliant_ ," he said cynically.

Aurelia looked up, her eyes flashing a violent shade of blue, a warning. Sirius had looked down at her at this point, but made no expression to indicate that he had noticed.

"I've had relationships that were painful, difficult, ones that sucked the life right out of you—but that was just one relationship, actually."

Aurelia's fists clenched so hard she was certain that blood would be dripping down her hand any moment. Lily put her hand on Aurelia's arm to calm her, but she was beyond that point now.

"I never realized it could be easy. You two have showed me something: the hard stuff is hard for a reason. If you want it badly enough and it's right, things will fall into place. The rest is just… not likely to last."

Uncertain if that speech had been worthy of applause, the attendants clapped slowly and quietly until Sirius sat down. His gaze was fixed on the opposite wall as Aurelia stood and used the _Sonorous_ charm on herself.

"Thank you, Sirius," she said, the sarcasm already leaking into her tone, "for that wonderful speech about the utter reverse of what marriage is." She could already hear the small gasps from the attendants, but she trailed on. "Marriage is not something that comes easily. Lily and James were one of the lucky pairs who make everyone else envious. It's not a manner of letting things fall into place. Relationships are work, _hard_ work. You have to work at them every day, and allow them to flourish. It's fine to say you'll _spend_ the rest of your lives together, that's easy. But what you should say instead is, 'I want to _enjoy_ the rest of my life with you.' Not some hogwash bullshit about fate or love at first sight or ignoring the hard stuff because it's difficult. You have to own it. You have to really mean it when you say, 'I love you,' because if you don't… nothing can stop the relationship from crumbling, and the only way you're going to get back on your feet is to make yourself believe that maybe you'll meet someone else someday, and that person will be kind and thoughtful instead of a two-faced prick who uses people and discards them like Chocolate Frog Cards… "

Aurelia sat down, crossing her arms over her chest.

No one clapped this time. And after a minute of the quiet, Peter must not have been able to stand it anymore. He tapped his glass with his spoon. The _tink, tink_ echoed through the room in a ghostly silence. Lily and James didn't kiss.


	3. Drunken Depravity

**CHAPTER 3**

 **Drunken Depravity**

Aurelia had downed three drinks before the dancing began. The server—William—had thankfully kept a close eye on her glass after her speech. Even the servers were feeling sorry for her. What a foolish mistake, to let her feelings cloud her judgement so much so that they overtook her mouth. Lily was never going to forgive her for making a mockery of her wedding reception. Every time she glanced over at her best friend, she refused to meet Aurelia's gaze.

William was a good lad. Her glass was full once again. She grabbed for the wine when a hand rested on her wrist. She looked up and Lily was staring at her, eyes filled with concern. "You've had enough, Lia."

Her hand quickly retreated from the glass, but her eyes were downcast. She saw what this was. Lily didn't want her embarrassing them any more than she already had. Well, she could take a hint. "I shan't make a scene again."

"Lia," Lily called after her as she made her way down from the dais and into the back corridors of the manor.

* * *

Sirius watched her leave the table, and he couldn't bear to look at her as she passed by him. Their toasts had been… unconventional, and both of them had drank quite a bit of wine afterwards. It had been an awkward fifteen minutes.

Lily looked around for someone at his side of the table. "Remus," she said, her eyes pleading. "Go find her."

Sirius slid his napkin onto the table and as Remus got up from his seat, Sirius got up with him.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked James.

"I'm going to help Remus," Sirius said, as if it were obvious.

Remus put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back in his seat. "You've done quite enough, Sirius."

He brushed Remus' hand off and made to get up again. This time James held him down.

"What is _Remus_ going to do that I can't?" Sirius asked, angry now that he had been thwarted twice.

"Speak _civilly_ to a _friend_ ," said Remus.

Sirius was starting to feel the eyes baring into him. He knew he was a little tipsy, but he was certain that if he found Lia he would be able to make her see reason. He just needed to formulate a plan… And that plan was… impossible to formulate without another glass of wine.

"Fine, but can I at least go to the loo?" Everyone stared at him in disbelief. "Man's gotta take a—"

A hand went over his mouth, the hand of Remus.

"Just go," said James, his head in his hand. "And if you come across Lia, do _not_ engage."

"You got it, Jamsie." He lifted himself from his seat and made his way to the john in the back of the main hall. When he came out, he wandered aimlessly for a little while, whistling an Irish lullaby Aurelia had taught him. She had taught him the words at some point, too. He wondered if he remembered them. He started humming and singing the words aloud.

" _Éisteacht le_ _amhrán seo cailín, aisling bog agus a bheith sásta, lig an_ … something… _a chanadh tú a chodladh, mar an timpiste dtonnta, ar_ _tránna_ _…_ "

"Uisce."

Sirius spun around. Aurelia was standing there, watching him carefully. "What?" he asked.

" _Uisce_ ," she repeated. "Water. You always forgot that one."

He didn't know what to say. He hadn't really expected to find her back here, especially before Remus. James' words went off in his head like a gong: do _not_ engage. But he was drunk; what did he care if things got ugly?

"I did not always forget," he said. "You just weren't a great teacher."

"ISH-ka. It's really not that hard to pronounce, Sirius. You're just a bad student."

"Yeah, well… if you had worn some kind of outfit to help the bit along, maybe we would've gotten somewhere."

Aurelia stared at him unblinking for a moment, before she giggled like a schoolgirl. "You're absolutely ridiculous, you know that?"

"Yeah, I do, as a matter of fact!"

"Well, good, I'm glad we're on the same page."

"It's never happened before, but there's a first time for everything."

"I'm glad we can agree on the fact that you're a git."

"HEY!"

Sirius and Aurelia looked down the hall at Remus, who was heading straight for them. Sirius stepped back from Aurelia and she did the same. Somehow in the thick of it, they had gotten so close they were almost touching.

"What you are two doing?"

"Arguing, obviously, Remus," she said hotly.

Her irises were flashing hints of a vibrant blue, almost like a scorching flame. Her cheeks were flushed and she was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling with every inhalation. Merlin, she looked incredible.

* * *

"You do realize that you two have been the only thing that has made this wedding a disaster, right?"

Aurelia waved her hand in a placating gesture. "You're embellishing just a bit, don't you think, Remus? I mean, the dancing went off without a hitch."

"That's because," Remus said, his teeth grit, "you both were drinking so much you were too preoccupied to do any verbal sparring until after it had started."

She was very much over this whole charade. She wanted to go home and recuperate from a terrible day. It felt as though the last twenty-eight hours were the longest of her life. And there was no getting through to him. There had been a moment when, after they had left the manor when the wedding was over, she had thought, _Maybe. Maybe I can break through his defenses this time, get him to see the truth._ But there was nothing there to be honest about. Sirius was obviously completely over her.

"I'm sorry, Remus," they both said at the same time. They looked at each other briefly before sending their gazes back to Remus.

"I don't want you to be sorry; I want you to change your ways."

Aurelia balked. "What do you want us to change?"

"Aurelia, you've been upset with Sirius since you two called it quits. That decision was mutual, if you remember."

"But he—"

"Told everyone about you two having sex. Yes, I remember quite clearly. Sirius may be a git—" Sirius made an indignant sound "—but he would have never betrayed your trust like that. He was under the influence of a hex."

"Who would have hexed him?"

"Does it even matter at this point? You broke up over something that was obviously an accident."

"We broke up," Sirius put in, "because she wouldn't grasp that he father was using her as a punching bag."

"Fuck you, Black," Aurelia spit.

"Right back at ya, baby."

Remus held up his arms and whispered fiercely, "Enough! Sirius, since we left Hogwarts, Aurelia has moved from her father's house, she's helped him wean off liquor altogether, and she hasn't been harmed since. Do you both understand how childish you're being by having it out in the middle of a wedding? Especially when you are fighting over _nothing_. Now you can keep bickering like an old divorced couple or you can start acting civilly. It's your choice, but we would all benefit from the latter."

Suddenly, Remus was walking away from them back towards the main hall. In the distance, Aurelia could hear slow dance music. She looked up at Sirius, who was watching her with a cautious expression on his face.

"So… do you want to try acting like adults?" asked Sirius warily.

"Remus made some solid arguments for that case."

"But are you willing?"

"I am if you are."

Sirius held out his hand in what looked like a gesture of good faith. Aurelia hesitated. How was this going to work? Suddenly, they would be friends again and would talk to each other at normal octaves? She was skeptical only because she knew him, but she had said she was willing.

Aurelia shook Sirius' hand. The firm grasp made her hand hurt slightly, and they were shaking hands for entirely too long, but she felt it—his pulse quickening—through the contact of their skin. And suddenly, she was pressed up against the wall of the corridor and her mouth was closed over his. His tongue was gently caressing hers, and it was sending butterflies down toward her stomach. Her hands rested on his hips, while his were everywhere—exploring the curves of her body. It had been so long since they'd felt each other like this, she'd almost forgotten what his naked body looked like.

He started to slide his hand up her dress, but she slapped it away. Sirius looked up in confusion until she said, "We're in a hallway, Seer."

They searched quickly for an abandoned room and happened upon the library. Thankfully, there was a lock on the door, even though she wasn't certain why a library needed a locked door (except for these special occasions).

She was trying hard not to overthink this. She just wanted it to happen—needed it, more like. She hadn't had a shag in at least six months, but she couldn't help feeling like this was either a pity shag or extended breakup sex. Either way, if that were the case, she didn't want it, however badly her body was saying otherwise.

Sirius sat her down in an armchair by the historical section. _Fitting_. He picked up the hem of her dress and, with his teeth and free hand, slowly pulled her knickers down and let them drop to her heals. He let her dress fall back down and then he grabbed her hand and hoisted her up off the chair. She stepped out from around her knickers and was led to the geographical section. He gently nudged her against the bookcase with his pelvis, holding her hands above her head with one of his own. He placed kisses along her jawline, the shell of her ear, the crook of her neck. Aurelia was trembling, but her legs were steady. His free hand was brushing the fabric of her dress, cupping her breast. She moaned softly, urging him to continue, but then he pulled away with a grin on his face.

He led her, all the while holding one of her hands, to the loveseat near the fireplace. She laid down on the couch while he shrugged off his suitcoat, unbuttoned his shirt and loosened his tie. He positioned himself on top of her where he proceeded to kiss her collarbone and use his dexterous fingers to roam her body. They played like this for a long while before Sirius looked up to gaze at her.

Aurelia squeezed his sides, where she had been tickling him softly. Her face slipped into a puzzled expression.

"I've said it once already," Sirius said gently, "but you said to own it."

She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"I love you," he said.

A single tear slid down her cheek, and he caught it with two of his fingers.

"I love you, too," she said.

Sirius' mouth formed a genuine smile before slipping his hand into her hair and kissing her fervently on the lips with such hunger she was taken aback by it. But by no means did she resist.

This was exactly where she wanted to be.

* * *

James was not willing to dance unless Lily would let him wrap his tie around his head. Unfortunately, she had just stared at him when he'd made the suggestion. Now he was sitting—sulking, more like—at the head table while Lily was dancing with her eight-year-old cousin.

"No, Sirius," said a voice a little ways down the hall.

"But I'm not asking." Two voices, and they were getting louder.

"It's not your decision to make."

"Can I have a little input?"

"No."

"But—"

"Oh, do shut up, Seer."

Sirius and Lia were at the head table now, bickering and— _Seer?_ James shook his head and looked up at the two of them. Aurelia had her hand on her hips, and Sirius was looking irritated, but she had said "Seer," hadn't she? She hadn't called him that since…

All of a sudden, Sirius' expression wavered and he looked… affectionate. And just like that, he was holding out his hand and she was taking it, and they were heading for the dance floor. The music had changed from fist-pumping wrock by _The Weird Sisters_ to a slow, sweet melody by _The Looking Glass_. Sirius twirled Aurelia around once and they landed in perfect sync into a classic closed position. They had their bodies pressed close, and they were both smiling.

James looked over at Remus and Peter, who looked absolutely baffled. He was certain he didn't look much different.

* * *

Sirius wrestled with himself. She was leaving the country and wouldn't be back for a year. An entire year. They had just said 'I love you' to each other for the first time, and they had shagged like there was no tomorrow because there wasn't a tomorrow. Lia had only put off her retreat for the wedding, and she was leaving tomorrow. How was he supposed to compete with a year-long trip to Italy?

"Just… don't go," he whispered in her ear. They had needed a place to think, but the library was out. No thinking in there. The back rooms had been locked and the only quiet-ish area available was the dance floor. As long as slow songs played in the background, Sirius would be able to have a nice, normal conversation with her.

"I'll lose my job if I don't go," she replied.

"And I appreciate and respect you for having a… what was it called? Job?" Aurelia smiled and let a sweet, honeyed laugh escape her. She was so beautiful. "I don't know if you know this, but I'm well off."

"No!" Lia replied, feigning surprise.

"You don't need a job."

"I _want_ my job."

He let out a frustrated noise that startled the couple next to them, which just so happened to be Mr. and Mrs. Evans.

"All right, Sirius?" Edwin asked carefully.

Sirius smiled in their direction. "Everything's _peachy_ ," he said, gliding him and Aurelia away quickly. He looked up at her to see her smiling sadly.

"I don't want to do this, Seer," Aurelia said, dropping her gaze to the floor. "I don't have a choice."

Lia spent the rest of the song lying her head on Sirius' shoulder while they swayed slightly.

* * *

At the end of the night, James and Lily left in the same carriage they had rode around in between the wedding and reception, but not before Lily had pulled Aurelia beside.

"Are you and Sirius back together?" she whispered, a small smile forming on her lips.

"I don't know," Aurelia replied.

"Did you—make up?"

A slight smirk caused Lily to squeal quietly.

"What about your trip?"

Aurelia's smirk was suddenly wiped off her face, and she said, "I'm still going."

Lily stared her straight in the eye. "You might not have him when you get back."

"It's one year," said Aurelia. "He loves me, Lily. And I love him."

"Finally, she gets it," Lily said, kissing her friend on the cheek. "Never say 'never'."

But Aurelia wasn't done explaining things. She had to tell James, Remus, Peter and then the girls wanted to know, as well. All of them had the same question: will you both wait?

When she finally got back to the head table after most of the attendants had left, Sirius was the only one sitting there, sulking. She went over to him and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kissing the top of his head.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, you're still leaving."

"Don't think of it like that," said Aurelia, smiling. "Think of it as a temporary moratorium on our relationship."

"Don't say 'moratorium.' It sounds too much like 'morgue,' and the death of our relationship doesn't really appeal to me."

"Fine, deferment. Call it whatever you like. I'm just saying that, if you truly love me, which I believe you do, then when I return from Italy, you'll be there. I don't care what you do in between, but _be there_. I'll be waiting. It's like in all the great love stories… our story is anything but ordinary, granted, but the novel we write will span a longer length of time than you or I realize. We are in love, Sirius, and you are the only person I want to spend my days fighting, shagging, and loving."

He was quiet for a moment when suddenly he said, "All right."

"All right, what?"

Sirius smiled. "I'll be there."

Tears threatened to escape her eyes, but she held them back. "I'll be waiting."

* * *

They were the last two in the main hall. Everyone else had gone, except the servers who were using an inordinate amount of _Scogify_ spells to clean up the mess they had all made.

They were standing in the archway of the hall so close they were almost touching. Aurelia put a hand on Sirius' elbow. He looked down at her, his expression content, lowering his head to kiss her lips. She had always been such a good kisser.

When they pulled apart, Sirius was slightly out of breath. They made their way out the doors and into the chilly night air.

Sirius smirked.

"What are you smirking at?" Aurelia asked, smiling a little at the joke she knew nothing about.

"Nothing," he replied.

"It isn't nothing. You usually have that dazed and confused look when you're not thinking."

"Is that so?"

"It is so."

His narrowed eyes suddenly softened and his mouth again formed into a smirk.

" _Now_ why are you smirking?" She sounded exasperated. He loved it when she sounded that way.

Sirius couldn't lie to her, so he said, "I'm remembering you naked."

Lia's cheeks reddened. She quickly turned on her heels and muttered a barely audible _Ugh!_ He caught up with her and grabbed her wrist. "I'm not ready to… moratorize our relationship."

"Defer," she corrected.

He waved her off. "Lia," he said, his eyes beseeching. "Come back to my place tonight."

"I have to leave at 4 o'clock," she said, but her eyes were determined, seeking a plan of action. She wanted to come with, didn't she?

"Then bring your bag and stay the night."

Aurelia looked up at him and grinned. "I _still_ wouldn't get any sleep."

It took Sirius a moment to register that statement, and his fears were alleviated. She wasn't trying to escape, she just needed a reason to stay.

"Merlin, I love you," he said.

And Sirius gave her one.

* * *

If anyone is interested, that lullaby is made up and the words in English are…

 _listen to this song, girl  
dream softly and be happy  
let the water sing you to sleep  
as the waves crash  
on the beach_


End file.
